ROCKPORT — As part of its ongoing commitment to increasing access to high quality health care in Knox County, Pen Bay Medical Center will provide free skin screenings and other resources at the 49th Annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum, to be held Feb. 29 to March 2, at the Samoset Resort in Rockport.

The Pen Bay Skin Center will provide free skin checks at the event for the fourth consecutive year. Providers will be onsite Thursday, Feb. 29, and Friday, March 1, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., to perform the screenings on a first-come, first-served basis.

According to Practice Manager Danielle Galley, providing skin checks at the forum is an important way that Pen Bay makes it easier for community members to access care.

“Fishermen are an important part of the community and very hard working. Often on the water from sunup to sundown. This not only increases their risk for skin cancers but limits their ability to attend appointments,” Galley said. “Skin checks are an important preventative service and often catch pre-cancerous lesions, before invasive treatment is required. The forum allows us an opportunity to provide these at no cost to our fishing community.”

Galley said over the past few years at the Fishermen’s Forum, the Skin Center team has found a few cases of melanoma, as well as several basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. If anything unusual is found during their skin checks, participants are referred to the Skin Center for follow up and treatment, if necessary.

“The Skin Center is a thankful for the opportunity to participate in such an important event,” Galley said. “It’s a great way to give back to our community.”

The hospital’s Community Health department will also participate in this year’s Fishermen’s Forum. Through collaboration with Pen Bay’s Physical Therapy team, they will provide information about dry needling, a medication-free pain management treatment offered at Pen Bay Physical Therapy. A representative from the practice will be at the Community Health table on Friday, March 1, from noon to 4 p.m. to answer questions about dry needling and other PT services.

According to Jana Tobin, director of outpatient occupational and physical therapy at Pen Bay, dry needling is an evidence-based tool that is used to treat pain, inflammation and movement issues throughout the body. During treatment, certified therapists use a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin to stimulate neural, muscular, and connective tissues, allowing for the evaluation and management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments.

“Fishing can be hard on the body, and that can lead to chronic pain,” said Tobin. “We have found dry needling to be highly effective when incorporated with other treatment options. Sometimes it is the one tool that makes a difference in a patient’s outcome.”

Additionally, the Community Health team will distribute naloxone kits at the forum. Naloxone, commonly referred to as Narcan, is a life-saving medication that is used to counter the effects of drugs like heroin and prescription narcotics. Last year, 200 kits were distributed at the forum. A pharmacist from the Pen Bay Pharmacy will be available at the table Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2, to answer questions about the medication.

“We want to make naloxone or Narcan as common to stock in your medicine cabinet as ibuprofen or Band-Aids,” said Community Health Program Manager Adrienne Gallant. “The Fishermen’s Forum is a great place to reach a large segment of our community. If we can distribute it and more people keep it with them, in their cars or on their boats, it can really be the difference between life or death if someone needs it.”

For more information about any of the services offered by the hospital, visit pbmc.org. 

Pen Bay Medical Center 

Pen Bay Medical Center is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of nine local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,600 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With more than 19,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. For more information, please visit pbmc.org.